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Festival Photography

I really do love this genre of photography and yet it all seems so hard to break into. I have applied to several festivals for a pass only to be asked which publication(s) I am working for and yet publications don’t even reply to offers of shooting for them.

I was amazed at one festival that I did cover, for a digital radio broadcaster, that another alleged “Pro” photographer alongside myself had a crib sheet offering optimal exposure settings for him to follow. This had been issued by the publication he was shooting for allegedly enabling him to capture quality images. As expected he struggled, spending most of the day staring at his LCD panel trying to work things out whilst I happily clicked away. I, all too often, read about so called “Pro’s” who are simply lowly paid enthusiasts being used to capture imagery on the cheap which frustrates me when I know I, and others, are capable of providing better quality imagery than some publications currently use.

There are of course the ‘popular’ music photographers who do indeed capture some quality imagery. What saddens me is after they have their passes issued the remaining photography slots appear to end up with glorified amateurs who look almost overwhelmed by the task of capturing the artists in full flow.

I will be trying again to grab myself a pass for any of the big festivals next year and have been given a unique angle from an well known musician/producer so I shall see how that fairs.

Here’s one of my own favourite festival images, which has been used by a publication, and not only because you can actually see me in the reflection. Just sums the atmosphere and scale of things nicely for me.